The present invention relates to an image forming system, which is provided with a printer controller that performs a rasterization processing to create image data and an image forming apparatus that performs an image forming operation based on the image data created by the printer controller.
The print processing based on print data, which represents characters and drawings by employing code data and vector data (for instance, Page Description Language) is performed according to such a processing flow that includes: creating image data in the format of bitmap by applying the rasterization processing (hereinafter, also referred to as RIP (Raster Image Processing)) to print data in the printer controller; transmitting a set of data for a specific print job, including the image data concerned, from the printer controller to the image forming apparatus; and forming an image onto a paper sheet in the image forming apparatus, based on the set of data received.
Further, in some cases, the system is so constituted that the image forming apparatus is provided with a mass storage section, such as a HDD (Hard Disc Drive), etc., to temporally store the set of data for the print job received from the printer controller, therein, so as to make it possible to perform various kinds of editing operations to be applied to the concerned print job from an operating display section provided in the image forming apparatus (refer to Tokkai 2004-86809, Tokkai 2004-86810 and Tokkai 2004-86811, Japanese Non-Examined Patent Publications). For instance, the various kinds of editing operations abovementioned may include operations for changing setting items in regard to the one-side/duplex printing mode and the output tray, setting items in regard to the punching, folding and binding post processing, setting items in regard to the color tone and the kind of paper sheet, etc.
The above-cited editing operations can be categorized into a group of setting items, with which can be coped only by the processing to be conducted by the image forming apparatus side, and another group of setting items, with which cannot be coped only by the processing to be conducted by the image forming apparatus side, but, which require the regeneration processing for regenerating the image data by performing the rasterization processing in the printer controller (hereinafter, referred to as a re-RIP (Regeneration Raster Image Processing)).
Other than the abovementioned, the various kinds of editing operations also includes those in regard to the changes of the page structure of the concerned print job, such as a change of page order, a deletion of page, an insertion of white paper sheet, etc. Conventionally, since it has been impossible for the printer controller side to cope with such the editing operations in regard to the changes of the page structure, the image forming apparatus side has performed the editing operations thereof. Concretely speaking, even when the editing operations, in regard to the changes of both the page structure and the setting item that requires the re-RIP, have been instructed, the printer controller has performed the re-RIP while leaving the page structure as it is before applying its changing operation, and then, the image forming apparatus has applied the operation for changing the page order, etc. to the image data regenerated by the re-RIP.